


Best

by themantlingdark



Category: Thor (Movies)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-08
Updated: 2018-12-08
Packaged: 2019-09-13 21:14:03
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,957
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16899933
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/themantlingdark/pseuds/themantlingdark
Summary: a vaguely sex-pollinated fic





	Best

 

The invitation was extended to both of them this time. Thor had politely declined the previous dozen, believing them to have been done by half. 

“I’ll be on my best behavior,” Loki promised. “I won’t embarrass you.”

“You can’t embarrass me.”

“I can cost you.”

 

Loki knew how little his brother had left to lose. The flotsam of orphans and oddities in New York made up the bulk of that roster. Thor’s friends would celebrate Christmas a few days after Earth’s solstice, which was when what was left of Asgard opted to do its celebrating. The brothers were pleased to have a second helping of holiday to look forward to, knowing the first would pass too swiftly.

  
  
  


Stark had promised something small and quiet, akin to what their own families might have done on Christmas eve if any of them still had traditional families. Thor and Loki were relieved to find that Tony hadn’t understated things. Steve, Bucky, Natasha, and Bruce were the only other guests in attendance. Tony and Pepper greeted the gods at the door on the roof. Pepper welcomed them both in with a hug and kiss on each cheek, not a second’s hesitation or hitch in her step. Loki felt her fingers squeeze his arms, subtly taking his measure. He huffed a little laugh, took her hand and kissed it. 

“You and Doctor Foster are, by far, the most fearless of your people.”

“Is it a tie?” Tony asked.

“The doctor leads by one truly impressive open-handed strike to my face,” Loki admitted, with a slow, apologetic bow of his head to Pepper. “But the night is young,” he winked. “By morning I’ll crown one of you Queen of Midgard.”

“You’d look killer in a crown,” Tony noted.

“I know,” Pepper said, smiling sweetly and taking the quite heavy case of gifts that was held under Loki’s arm as if it weighed no more than a handbag. “We said no presents,” she scolded gently, shaking her head at them and giving them a smile that made Tony jealous of Thor, Loki, and Pepper alike. 

“You can open it now,” Thor said, so Pepper set it on the counter and did so.

“ _ Oh shit _ ,  _ Nat _ , it’s akvavit,” she purred, flinging open a cupboard and grabbing two glasses as Natasha came running.  

Pepper poured them each a generous serving and they clinked the crystal together, smiling into each other’s eyes.

“Skoal,” they said, and downed their glasses in one go.

“I forgot it’s Norway that does the citrusy ones,” Pepper sighed, filling their cups again.

“They age it in sherry casks like a lot of Scotch,” Natasha nodded. “The oak makes it taste like fruit and vanilla.”

They threw back round two with happy groans and Pepper pulled up flights Tony had scheduled to Norway on her phone.

“I feel like we should go to the source.”

“Agreed.”

  
  


“So, white after Labor Day,” Tony said, filling tumblers with bourbon for the brothers and leading them to the sofa where Steve and Bucky rose to hug Thor hello and nod at Loki.

“I’m sorry, I don’t follow,” Thor said, shaking his head. He and his brother were wearing undyed leggings with matching boots. The leather was soft, pale, and thin, shaped by the limbs under it. They wore white tunics with high necks and simple embroidery that went halfway down their breasts. For warmth they had on heavy cream cardigans with thick braiding knitted into them, rolled collars, and one large button at the waist.

“It’s a fashion convention hardly anyone here adheres to anymore either,” Tony told them. “We used to stop wearing white the first week of September.”

“And why’s that?” Loki asked.

“No idea,” Tony admitted.

“White is the traditional color of mourning for Asgard,” Thor explained. “Normally the court doesn’t comply, but lately wearing armor feels like wishing for trouble. And court clothing is needlessly complex and uncomfortable. I’m not looking to set myself apart from my people.”

“Why white and not black,” Steve asked. 

“White is the color of the gowns worn by infants and invalids,” Loki replied. “The color of wound dressings. It’s not a color one likes to wear when working because it stains easily. When you see someone up and about wearing white, you know they’re not well. You know not to ask them for anything, apart from what you can do to help. Though it’s a bit absurd to be wearing it now.”

“Why’s that?” Bucky asked.

“Everyone’s in white, but everyone’s working,” Thor answered. “We have too much to do.”

Tony frowned, opened his mouth, and only exhaled.

“You have a question,” Loki encouraged, raising one eyebrow expectantly.

“How long does mourning last for you?” Tony said. 

“Sometimes only decades,” Loki replied. “Sometimes centuries. Often millennia. Depends on how close you were to who you lost and how long you loved them.”

“You’ll be mourning for...” Tony trailed off.

“The rest of our lives,” Loki finished. “But we’ll stop wearing white soon so we don’t look like goldbricks.”

  
  
  


Stark ordered carry out from Awadh for their dinner. Pepper had said all she wanted for Christmas was their Nawabi Murgh Tikka.

 

Never having dined with Loki before, Thor’s friends noticed nothing amiss. But, in over a thousand years, Thor had never once heard his brother make a noise of pleasure during a meal, though nothing Loki had eaten on Asgard had ever been anything less than delicious. Here, Loki moaned at the first mouthful. Chicken with a marinade made of dairy and some spice Thor couldn’t place. Thor was pleased to see his brother eating with his fingers the way everyone else was, using pieces of bread to scoop up the dishes and gravies. Surprised to catch him sucking sauce from his fingertips just as everyone else was doing. Even more surprised to find Loki’s face slightly flushed and sweating.

 

“How was  Jól ?” Steve asked, turning toward Thor, who was seated on his right. 

“Wonderful,” Loki answered, just as Thor was parting his lips to speak. Thor smiled and nodded his agreement. “The children took to Thor as  Jólfaðr like fish to water,” Loki went on. “Not that they never took to our Father. But he was-” Loki cast an image of Odin at the end of the table. Everyone thought of Gary Oldman in the Klimt-inspired costume from  _ Bram Stoker’s Dracula. _ “Not as approachable as Thor,” Loki said, and then cast an image of Thor from two days ago in its place. In it, Thor was grinning. He had a bell tied around his neck with blue ribbon and sported a felt bonnet with two curving wooden horns on top and long ears like leaves that hung down at the sides of his head.

“Is that a goat costume?” Bruce asked.

“ _ It is _ ,” Loki nodded, grinning. Thor briefly raised his eyebrows at his brother’s enthusiasm but didn’t interrupt. “He gets to play the Julbocken now,” Loki continued. “We went door to door knocking, and when the children answered, Thor got down on all fours and butted and chased them until they fed him apples or grass. And then he gave them presents from the sack of gifts I carried.  _ Oh _ ,” Loki remembered, turning to Stark, “thank you for the hams and toys and sweaters and sweets. The children weren’t expecting Jól at all this year. It was a very pleasant surprise.”

“My pleasure,” Stark nodded.

“They were always a bit more intimidated by our father,” Loki continued. “Had the hay and apples ready for him in their hands. But they wanted Thor to chase them. Wanted to hold onto his attention for as long as they could. And who could blame them?” 

 

“Dessert,” Pepper said, and set down a dish full of fragrant, round sweets in a deep gold syrup.

Thor could smell the same spice from the chicken, and when Loki ate one of the spongy brown balls, he made the same noise. A low, hummed moan Thor had only heard in the bedroom prior to this night. When Thor went to take a bite of the dish, Loki leaned over, caught him by the wrist, and redirected Thor’s fork into his own mouth. 

“Thor, these are incredible,” Loki breathed.

“I believe it,” Thor laughed. “You’ve emptied the bowl.”

Loki blinked, frowned, and briefly gaped, then shut his mouth with a click of his teeth and sank in his chair.

“When?” Loki whispered.

“Just now,” Thor said. 

“Did you get any at all?”

“I did not,” Thor shook his head. “And you’re the only one who got seconds.”

“Sorry,” Loki said, widening his eyes and shaking his head. He put his arm around Thor, pulled him close, and kissed him, licking into his mouth and brushing Thor’s tongue with his own, hoping to transfer the taste. “Imagine it with a little fried doughnut made of milk. I taste roses, but there’s something else too. The same spice from the chicken, I think.” 

Thor nodded.

“Cardamom,” Pepper supplied.

“Cardamom,” Loki repeated, with what sounded like reverence, then shook his head again and laughed at himself. “You poor thing,” he sighed, leaning over to kiss Thor’s shoulder and pat him on the back. “I didn’t mean to eat  _ all _ of yours. I only meant to eat  _ half _ .”

Thor was staring at him, smiling with his lips while his eyes and forehead looked concerned.

“Do I have something on my face” Loki asked.

“No,” Thor soothed. “I just hadn’t realized you’d come around to my side after our discussion last night.

“Fight,” Loki amended, deflating a bit.

“Discussion,” Thor reaffirmed. 

“Argument,” Loki compromised.

“We didn’t raise our voices. We said nothing nasty. Never came to blows or anything close.”

“No,” Loki agreed, “but I went to bed thinking I was right and all the while feeling that I’d wronged you. Kept me up for hours.”

Loki looked around the table. All eyes were on his face. He blinked and looked back at his brother.

“When I’m with your friends, it’s easy to believe that they love you,” Loki said. “But when I’m away I begin to fear the worst. They’re so young. And they don’t really know you.”

“They do now,” Thor noted. 

“Yes,” Loki laughed softly. “I suppose they do. Couldn’t be sure they were really your friends if they didn’t truly know you.”

“That’s what I was saying last night,” Thor nodded.

“You might have just lost them,” Loki noted.

“If I did, then they weren’t really my friends,” Thor said.

“We’re still good,” Tony told them. “We’re not exactly...  _ surprised _ . There’s a pool. It’s six years old now.  _ Price is Right _ rules. Pepper just won. Jarvis transferred the funds.”

Loki’s face widened.

“Subtlety isn’t one of our strong suits, Lo,” Thor consoled, then smiled and reached across the table to congratulate Pepper with a fist-bump.

  
  


They settled in the living room to sip Irish coffee while they watched  _ The Thin Man _ .

When Thor and Loki went to stretch out on the rug, Pepper said she and Tony could take it so that there’d be room for the brothers on the sofa. Thor explained their weight wouldn’t do the furniture any good. 

“And we can’t have the Queen of Midgard sitting on the floor,” Loki added, conjuring a crown and setting it on her head.

“Did I clock you while I was swimming in akvavit?” Pepper asked.

“No, you introduced me to cardamom and that clinched it for you,” Loki said. 

Pepper pumped her fists and high fived Natasha.

  
  


“I like her eyebrows,” Loki murmured, nodding his head at Myrna Loy halfway through the film. 

“You would, Thor snorted.

 

Loki was lying against Thor’s right side, pillowing his head on Thor’s shoulder and resting his right leg on Thor’s thighs. Loki’s hand had wandered up the front of Thor’s tunic during the opening credits and his fingers had been fiddling with Thor’s left nipple for so long it had begun to ache. Thor brushed at Loki’s knuckles and shooed him out from under his clothes. He felt Loki’s breath puff out against his throat in complaint.

 

“Thor,” Loki urged, five minutes later, fisting the front of Thor’s shirt and tugging it lightly.

“Shh,” Thor whispered, and flattened Loki’s hand against his breast, pinning it in place with his own, then patting and stroking it lightly when he felt Loki’s fingers go limp. Thor hoped that this would prove satisfactory, but Loki misinterpreted it as encouragement.

“ _ Thor _ ,” Loki purred, curling his right leg up toward his chest so that his inner thigh dragged over Thor’s crotch.

Thor let go of Loki’s hand and caught him behind the knee before he could slide his leg back down again. Thor’s right arm was wrapped around Loki’s shoulders. With his left occupied by Loki’s leg, he couldn’t keep Loki from pestering his chest again.

 

When the movie ended, Thor checked the front of his tunic for blood. His nipples felt so hot he was certain his brother had rubbed them raw.

“All right, everybody change into pajamas and meet back here for  _ Gremlins _ in fifteen,” Stark said, flipping on the lights and making everyone squint.

“What are pajamas?” Loki asked.

“They’re those clothes people sleep in,” Tony replied.

“Oh, when you’re ill,” Loki nodded.

“No, all the time.”

“Why would anyone who’s well want to sleep in their clothes?”

“Warmth?” Stark tried.

“That’s what furs and blankets are for,” Loki said, shaking his head. 

“I’ll send a couple sets up,” Stark said. “When in Rome.” 

 

The pajamas were already waiting in a delivery chute when the brothers got to Thor’s rooms.

“Do they really wear these to sleep?” Loki asked, holding the loose flannel garments up to his body to gauge the fit.

“Yes,” Thor shrugged.

“Why wouldn’t you want to be in your skin? Why wouldn’t you want your partner in theirs?”

“I don’t pretend to understand it,” Thor admitted, undressing and changing into the strange night clothes.

Loki watched Thor’s body appear only to vanish again. He sighed and changed into the pajamas too, then climbed into bed.

“Did you not want to watch the next movie?” Thor asked.

“I’ll watch. Just lie down with me for a little while.”

Thor cocked his head and raised a very skeptical eyebrow.

“We’ll go,” Loki insisted.

Thor stretched out with him and hummed.

“The pajamas are comfortable enough, but I still don’t see what they accomplish,” Thor said.

“I don’t like how they twist and bunch around my legs.”

“Yes, that could be improved.”

“I also don’t like touching cloth where I should be finding skin,” Loki said putting his hands up Thor’s shirtfront again.

“Is the bourbon affecting you” Thor asked. Loki’s cheeks were still pink and his eyes were a bit shiny.

“Couldn’t be,” Loki wrinkled his nose. “I hardly had any. And it’s mostly water.”

“Well, something’s gotten into you,” Thor said, pulling his brother close and giving his spine a long, soothing stroke.

“Regret, probably,” Loki said. “I was short with you last night. Fighting killed the mood for me.”

“Having a disagreement,” Thor said. “Not fighting.”

“Either way, I was hasty. Had you off with my hand, let you fall asleep, and rolled away.” Loki shook his head. “Sorry.”  

“We were tired and upset,” Thor soothed.

“The story of our lives,” Loki sighed. Thor squeezed him and kissed his cheek. It was hot under his lips and he frowned.

“You sure you’re all right?”

Loki nodded and butted their foreheads together.

“Thor, please.”

“I’d have to be short with you.”

“I couldn’t linger if I tried,” Loki confessed. “I’ve been on the edge of it all night. Had to cast a glamor to hide my cock.”

Thor looked down and found the front of Loki’s pajama bottoms tented and a dark spot where the fabric was wet with his leaking. 

“What flavor of hasty do I have to look forward to?” Loki asked. 

“My mouth. That way we won’t have a mess to clean up.”

Loki hummed and smiled. Thor could see Loki’s toes wiggling at the end of the bed. He rolled his brother onto his back and stretched out on top of him, then leaned in to kiss his mouth and eyelids until Loki tipped his head back, offering his throat, silently asking him to move lower.

 

It was odd not to see Loki’s skin. The firm planes of the breast and the shallow peaks of the ribs, pale and painted with shadows, were one of Thor’s favorite sights. Loki loved to be kissed there. And scratched. For hours when they had the time. Thor would do it later. He pulled Loki’s shirt up only a little, nibbled the soft skin of his stomach, then tugged Loki’s trousers down and caught his cock in his mouth where it bounced above his hips. 

 

Not wishing to soak Loki with spit, Thor held still, keeping just the head of Loki’s cock in his mouth, licking the V at the tip with light, quick flicks while he closed his thumb and forefinger in a tight loop around the base. When Loki’s breathing quickened, Thor hummed. Loki’s breast stilled and Thor felt his brother’s cock flex and throb as little spurts of semen hit the roof of his mouth, floral and sweet, tasting like the spices from their supper.

  
  
  
  


“What’s the story, Jarvis,” Stark asked, making unnecessarily elaborate hot cocoa to kill time while he waited for his guests. “Should we start without them?”

“They will be down shortly, sir.”

“Any idea what hit Loki like a sexed-up ton of bricks?”

“A compound in the cardamom had a unique effect on his physiology.”

“What about Thor’s?”

“It was like giving a glass of water to a fish.”

  
  
  


  
  


  
  
  
  
  
  
  


**Author's Note:**

> please don't comment or repost


End file.
